Genma Saotome (claymade)
'Genma Saotome '(早乙女玄馬 Saotome Genma) is the father of the title character, Ranma Saotome. He is married to Nodoka Saotome and is a former fellow student of Happosai's along with his old friend and prospective in-law, Soun Tendo. Genma can translate into "dark or mysterious horse". Saotome means "rice-planting girl", which applies more to Ranma's cursed condition. Profile Defiance is an emotion that had been all but crushed in Genma's own soul by Happosai. During the years of torture under the inescapable master the most important lesson Happousai had taught him was, that when you scoured away the philosophy from a man, and scoured away his fine-sounding morals, and scoured away his very pride itself... what lay under all of that was one simple question. Whether or not he would do what it took to survive. And at some point Saotome Genma decided that he would. However his one redeeming quality is that he had never tried to bring Ranma to that place, not in all their training together. Instead he had made a point of telling Ranma about "the duties of a martial artist" that some small, flickering part of him still believed, but was too weak to act on himself. Appearance Biography Genma and Soun were childhood friends. During their first training trip they heard about a tiny menace who was stealing underwear and harassing women everywhere he went. Genma felt that it was their duty to hunt him down. After Happosai defeated them they went back and trained even harder, then tried for a rematch. When that didn't work, they tried a third time. They kept trying and trying and trying to fight him always thinking that this time they would find a way to win. Unfortunately all they ended up doing was piquing the Happosai's curiosity. On a whim, he decided that they would be his students, and that's when the hell truly began for us. He called it 'training', but he really just wanted their help with the very things they’d thought they were going to stop him from doing. If they refused, he would 'spar' with them instead. Before long Genma had given up all hope of beating him, he just wanted to escape. But by then it was too late. They couldn't get away from him. Eventually he had to accept that. There was nothing he could do. Giving in was the only way to survive, and Genma decided they were going to survive. |-|The Dark Lords of Nerima= In Chapter 4: Turning Tables, when Ranma left to help Ryoga and Brenda Akane wanted to go as well only to be stopped by Soun. When the three returned it wasn’t long before they were swarmed by the others. After their usual antics Akane took Ryoga to get stitched up while Kasumi took Ranma. Ryoga began to introduce everyone to each other. He also explained why she was with him. Like with Ryoga after hearing Brenda’s story they didn’t hesitate to offer their help. Though Genma was quick to point out that Ranma should be strong enough to handle it on his own. In Chapter 7: Closing In, upon hearing a blood-curdling scream followed by a loud crash Genma and Soun rushed into the kitchen and upon seeing the Darkmistress attacked her before Brenda could warn them. The two proved to be little match for the Darkmistress and were quickly dealt with. Brenda immediately tried run only to quickly realize that Kasumi had not fled with her and was facing the oncoming attacker. Kasumi was just as easily dealt with but seeing her so casually and brutally tossed aside filled Soun and Genma with renewed vigor and rage. Unfortunately they still proved to be no match for the youma. In Chapter 8: Holding On, when Genma began to stir and the moment Darkmistress blasted him back into unconsciousness. By this point Ryoga had made his way down stairs so told the injured Mousse and Brenda to get Kasumi, Soun, and Genma to safety before going to get Ranma for help. As much as he hated it Mousse obeyed, grimly aware that every second counted. In Chapter 9: Caught Between, hours later after everyone had been moved to Ukyo's okonomiyaki shop. When Ranma began unpacking Genma despite still recovering from the battle seized the chance to talk to his son in private. Ranma instantly knew something was up upon seeing his father. So while he wasn’t surprised Genma wanted him to abandon Brenda he was degusted by it. While Genma tried playing it off as being for Brenda’s benefit he was quickly forced to admit that he felt that the Dark Kingdom was to strong for them to defeat. However Genma quickly realized Ranma wasn’t listening he refused to give Brenda over and his response to Genma believing they couldn’t fight them was ‘watch me’. Seeing Ranma standing there, radiating defiance—an emotion that had been all but crushed in Genma's own soul. He fell back on a reflexively familiar tactic, putting the problem off. Yet Ranma’s only response to telling him think it over was a snort that eloquently described what he thought the chances were of that ever happening. In Chapter 15: Keeping Secrets, Genma was playing shogi went suddenly grabbed him and rushed totawrd Tofu’s office, leaving him in Tofu’s place who she grabbed and sprinted into the closet just as Kasumi arrived with Ami. Kasumi tried to figure out why Genma was claiming to be Tofu forcing Shampoo to knock him out when he realized she was there. Brushing off the noise Genma sent a confused Kasumi away. Brushing off the noise Genma sent a confused Kasumi away. Ami explained to Genma that she was there to ask about pressure point techniques. Shampoo used that opportunity to try and sneak out. Unfortunately at that moment Akane walked in once again forcing Shampoo to grab her and rush to the nearest hiding place. Ami attempted to see what that sound was, but Genma acted like nothing happened before immediately moving to answer she question. Genma quickly proved while his own style was a mainly a striking art, he had picked up enough knowledge on related subjects during his martial arts training to make what he said at least sound fairly impressive. Unfortunately they were once again interrupted by someone the senshi might recognize this time Ranma. Shampoo slammed the door she and Akane were hiding behind with all her might into Ranma’s face while at the same time she and Akane dove for different hiding place. Unfortunately she dove behind Ryoga so as she winced at Genma’s terrible excuse for what just happened the sheet covering him started to fall off. Genma stopped Ami from touching it by explaining that the patient was undergoing a complicated procedure. Then hearing Ranma’s angry return he quickly splashed him with water as he entered. Leaving Ami to wonder what was going on. Referring to Ranma as his daughter Akane he explained who Ami was and why she was there. Ranma finally realizing what was going on went along with it. However once again someone else this time Mousse. Oblivious to Ranma's panic, Mousse landed on the sink and turned on the hot water with his beak, resuming his human form. Ami quickly turned around and stared at the wall as Genma explained that the naked man was Akane’s fiancé Ranma. Reluctantly Mousse apologized as he thought he would be alone with his darling Akane. Seeing how embarrassed Ami was Ranma grabbed a sheet to cover Mousse up. With Mousse no longer naked Ami remarked how he had the same name of of another Ranma. This caused Mousse to go into a tirade about the reprehensible man that shared his name. He went on so long that eventually Ranma distracted Ami to give him an opportunity to attack Mousse. Trying to distract Ami from the killing intent the two were giving off as well as give Shampoo and Akane a chance to move Genma pretended to perform Shiatsu massage on Ami after claiming she looked stress. Akane and Shampoo crept out of their hiding places, taking care to stay behind the Senshi, and proceeded to sneak safely out of the room. Having seen enough Ami was about to leave when Ryoga started to wake up. The instant before Ryouga managed to reveal himself, Genma lunged forward and delivered a mighty kick to the bed he was laying on. Both it and the boy laying on it were launched through the air as though fired from a cannon, shooting right past the disbelieving Senshi with a blast of displaced air. At this sight Ami froze in shock Genma claimed he just performed a high level massage technique. This in no way made Ami feel any better so she left the clinic as quickly as she could. In Chapter 17: Dark Lords, Genma aided everyone in turning the Furinkan High gym into a villain lair. He and Ukyo were both hard at work, painting furiously, coloring the huge room pitch black. |-|The Dark Lords Strike Back= In Chapter 2: Converging, when Akane received a call at the Tendo Dojo from Cologne she Genma and Soun made their way to the Nekohaten. Though she though she herself prepared she was shocked upon actually seeing the sheer scale of the force gathered. The fathers were equally as shocked and began fidgeting. Genma and Soun decided to go on a training trip leaving a letter for Ranma telling that it was an important anniversary. They finally stopped to rest in Adachi ward, far away from both Nerima and Juuban. However this gave Soun time to reflect on what they were doing. While Genma did fill somewhat guilty he answered that they weren’t needed given the army amassed. While Genma was clearly trying to convinced himself Soun agreed. In Chapter 4: Remembrance, Brenda gathered everyone together to explain why they were being plagued by strange dreams and déjà vu. Much to Nabiki’s surprise Ryoga, Ranma, and Akane actually believed this strange woman. Akane even compared it to how she felt while under Xi Fa Xiang Gao. Ranma asked Brenda to keep telling them what happened while they performed meditation techniques in an effort to trigger memories. Ryoga was the first to regain his memories causing the youma to lung forward impulsively to wrap the lost boy in a hug and bury her face in his chest. Akane was the next to regain her memories, pulling on her previous experience at breaking free of the Xi Fa Xiang Gao to do much the same thing again. Ranma followed shortly thereafter. But no matter how hard they tried, they were unable to convince Nabiki, Kasumi or their fathers to even make the attempt, much less break through the memory blocks. Kasumi, at least, seemed to agree that it wasn't all some elaborate trick, although Ranma got the feeling she did so more out of politeness than anything else. Nabiki was openly scornful, suggesting that they were the victims of some hallucinogenic magic product, as per one of their usual escapades. Soun and Genma more or less avoided the question altogether, making Ranma wonder if the two martial artists were truly as free of the flashes of déjà vu as they claimed to be. |-|The Dark Lords Ascendant= In Chapter 4: Failure to Communicate, Genma caught Ranma as he was leaving for Juuban after chastising Ranma for once again talking about missing memories he could hear the dismissal in sons voice when he answered him and left. Ignoring the shadowy, barely-remembered nightmares that came with this he went back to playing shogi with Soun. In Chapter 8: Foes in Need, Genma and Soun were informed by Nabiki that Happosai had returned and was currently fighting Ryoga and the Senshi. They crept into the kitchen attracted by aloud crash and found Akane embedded into the wreckage of what had once been the family oven being helped by Ryoga. When he told them that Pantyhose Taro was there as well, they decided it would be best for them to get the girls to safety. Not in the mood to listen to their self-justification he just told them to go while he went back to deal with Taro. While Akane wasn’t happy about this she allowed her father to take her. In Chapter 9: Worth Fighting For, Genma and Soun returned to the dojo Genma went first since he had a ready made disguise signaling to Soun when he saw that everyone was goon. Taking in the latest damage to Soun's house the two began searching for Ryoga and eventually found his clothes, still soaked with water from the koi pond. Much to Genma’s surprise Soun expressed his regret and revealed that he had been having nightmares for the last few years. The terrible nightmares of blood and chaos and death, of Akane being brutally killed by monsters while they fled. While Genma refused knew what Soun was talking about but refused to acknowledge it. The two stood there frozen as Genma tried to think of something to say to console his friend. Sadly nothing came to mind. In Chapter 11: Clearing the Air: When Ranma and the others returned they did so with the Senshi and families explaining that Tanizaki knew who they were so they needed a safe place to stay. What followed was a haphazard flurry of activity as they all tried to bring some order to the chaos, working out who would sleep where, who would take what watch, and so forth. The Tendo compound was much larger than the Tsukino residence, but with all the extra people things were packed nonetheless. Still, despite the turmoil and uncertainty, everyone was also exhausted, and before long most of them had found a place to grab some much-needed sleep. Bit by bit the Tendo home quieted, until it was largely still. Morning came all too soon, dawn peeking over the horizon and shining down on the Tendo Dojo. Most of the inhabitants therein awoke both late and slowly; the night before had been a long and draining one for most of them. Rei's grandfather had shown by far the least difficulty adjusting to the revelation, and was out interacting freely with the youngsters. As he was trying to hit on Haruka with no success whatsoever. Genma, for his part, had taken panda form and was wandering around, keeping his distance from most of the goings on. In Chapter 15: Dreams for Tomorrow, After hearing how dangerous the Wyrmspawn’s was Genma attempted to convince Ranma to run away and leave it to the Senshi to deal with. When Ranma naturally refused he told him of the time he met Happosai, begging him not to make the same mistake he made all those years ago. Hearing the pained vulnerability in his father’s voice and seeing how small and tired and empty looked broke through Ranma’s anger. Yet he still refused to give up as and with the anger gone asked his father not to as well hoping that there was still some part of the man he used to think he was there. While it was clear that the conflicting emotions inside Genma were warring against each other, in the end, it wasn't enough. Ranma’s only reply was the repeat the duty of a martial artist that his father taught him. Soun and Genma attempted to leave the city in the dead of night convincing themselves that they wouldn’t make a difference. The nightmare of the missing year still haunted them and running away again was just bringing them to the forefront. While Genma could them Soun couldn’t and decided to go back. Genma begged his friend to come back but he ran back to the Dark Kingdom knowing that if he stayed Genma would convince him to go with him. Genma was left alone with nothing but the empty feeling of content that he had survived. In Chapter 16: Men and Monsters, the parting words of both his son and his oldest friend refused to leave him alone. Causing Genma to pace back and forth in the empty streets of the evacuated area. His decision was made upon seeing a glowing blue artillery fire streak across the city sky. He decided to follow the shots to their source, break whatever was doing the shooting, and then run away, secure in the knowledge that he'd done his part after all. Seeing Tanizaki made Genma's danger sense go ballistic. However he knew he couldn’t take the cannon out from a distance when he saw the terrified crowd of prisoners clustered around the weapon. Once again frozen in indecision he didn’t make a move he realized that Ranma was about to die. Using the Umisenken Genma disabled the computers, then began taking out the guards. Tanizaki had everyone still conscious move to his field of vision as he tried to figure out where the attacks were coming from. Then told them to fire the cannon manually. With no way to get close with Tanizaki watching like a hawk Genma attempted to throw a brick only for him to lauch a ki blast where it had been fired from, which Genma barely dodged. Tanizaki then goaded Genma into attacking by purposely leaving himself open. Tanizaki had developed a counter for stealth techniques. It was an exchange of blows Tanizaki could not avoid Genma's attack completely, but he was able to turn it into a glancing blow, while his hit was much more solid it did not land dead-on either. Scrambling away Genma figured out his next step. Scenario after possible scenario flashed through Genma's thoughts, but each one had some drawback, some cost. Abandoning all stealth Genma grabbed a guard put his gi on them and threw him at Tanizaki, then used the distraction to attack. Tanizaki managed to react in time, but this proved to jest be another distraction allowing Genma to use the Human Battle Aura technique to destroy the cannon. Despite Tanizaky breaking his arms and legs when he broke free Genma confidentially told him that Ranma would defeat him. Those words caused something in Tanizaki to snap and after savagely beating Genma to a bloody pulp he broke his neck. Abilities Category:The Dark Lords of Nerima